Tan Hung Heng is an Australian expat who participated in the latest "Go Jiangsu" trip to Suzhou’s Wujiang district on Nov 17 and 18 to learn about the area’s efforts and progress in preserving ecology.
It is a great experience for me to join the Wujiang trip along with several local Chinese groups and other expats for a two-day ecological tour in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.
This event was organized by China Daily Website, Information Office of Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government and the Department of Ecology and Environment of Jiangsu Province.
Our first destination is the Tongli National Wetland Park, where we took a train ride, a boat cruise and had some walking. We explored over 800 hectares of wetland with vibrant green scenery, which is a natural sanctuary for many kinds of birds.
The boat cruise was simply amazing when we passed through a tunnel scenery of beautiful bamboo trees, just like a painting gift from nature. We were also given souvenir metallic pins of various species of wetland birds.
During our trip to Zhonganqiao village, Zhenze town on Nov 18, I was amazed to see some unique rural houses painted with beautiful country style artworks. It was also a fun experience to learn about the local silk production, silkworms, silk handicraft and experience the art of handcrafting flowers from silk cocoons.
Guess what? We were also given the rare opportunity to work in the rice field to practice cutting and harvesting the rice bushels. Expats including me had great fun in a friendly rice harvesting competition.
The final activity was to relax and sip great coffee, enjoy locally handmade dumplings and snacks while watching a large flock of wild white herons flying around the beautiful scenery of golden field of rice crops. The village is indeed a nature paradise for residents, tourists, painters and photographers.
What’s unique about this village is that it has achieved the natural yin and yang balance to benefit the ecological system, with harmonious coexistence among the fishes, wild birds and the people who live there and the economic progress.
Other places we also visited are Pingwang town, Yuangdang Pedestrian Bridge, and a local solid waste incineration and power generation project.
In conclusion, this tour was most enjoyable and an interesting educational experience to learn more about maintaining a harmonious balance between preserving nature and maintaining economic progress. On behalf all the people from the expats and local groups, I would like to thank all the organizers for granting us this special opportunity to experience "Go Jiangsu" ecological tour in Wujiang.
